‘I will never stop writing poetry’: get to know student poet Sarkis Antonyan ’27

This article is part of a National Poetry Month series featuring student poets at Brown.

Brown-RISD dual degree student Sarkis Antonyan ’27 started writing poetry in the notes app in ninth grade — but it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that he started taking poetry more seriously.

Antonyan began engaging with the writing community online, first by starting a virtual poetry club at his school, then by branching out to teenage poetry forums on X. Since then, Antonyan has submitted his work to publications and competitions.

“By the end of high school, I was immersed in the poetry world,” he said. “It was on my computer. It was on paper. And I also performed poetry for the people around me.”

Antonyan described his writing process as sporadic yet disciplined.

“Primarily, I focus on my own experiences and the general themes of adolescence and queerness,” he said, adding that he often uses his photos as starting points in understanding the facets of life he is uncertain about.

He also draws from visual art — whether it’s his personal creations or museum collections. “A lot of my inspiration comes from obscure details, and that comes from being a good observer in real life,” he told The Herald.

Daniella Pozo ’27, a Brown-RISD dual degree student who has read and listened to Antonyan’s poetry, praised the nuanced relationships expressed in his work. 

“I think his passion for life really translates in his words and each of his poems reveals a different side to Sako,” she said. “Some of his work invites you to find kinship or relate to him. Some things keep you at an appropriate distance from his life, reminding you that this is his story and he is simply inviting you in.”

Antonyan’s favorite piece is “Asymmetry,” an experimental free verse forthcoming in RISD’s publication v.1.

“It describes moments about feeling a little bit awkward or disjointed, and I like it because I achieved something visually. Each line has missing words, and the chopped sentences with fractures within them capture how erratic it is (to be) a young person,” he said. 

For the past few months, Antonyan has also been working on his debut poetry collection — which focuses on his inner world and features motifs like windows and glass to convey revelations and struggles within relationships. 

“It has been the most thrilling and rewarding process for myself,” he said.

In the future, Antonyan hopes to push his artistry to explore multimedia forms — such as sculpture — to create his own unique space in poetry. 

“I will always be a writer,” he told The Herald. “I know it’s an obsession, but I will never stop writing poetry.”